


Environmental Science 300

by redsliver



Series: The Spectacular Spider-man Seasons 3, 4 and 5 [4]
Category: The Spectacular Spider-Man (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, F/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 19:57:58
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4072606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redsliver/pseuds/redsliver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peter Parker's lost his job with Kingsley Inc and is forced to slink back to The Daily Bugle and face the Jolly one himself if he's going to stand a chance of helping with legendary Parker money troubles. Oh well, at least he doesn't have Goblins or Sixes to worry about. What's the worst that could happen over summer vacation?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Environmental Science 300

Environmental Science 311 Dehabitation

“Martha?” Doctor Curtis Connors had to turn around and pull the screen door tight, “Billy's happy enough to watch the fireworks with his frie—classmates. I think he's finally coming around to our new home. I think you're right. He needs to try.”

"Well having a new friend makes the move that much easier," Martha grinned at her husband as he entered the kitchen. She knew her husband; she suffered no insult as he dropped his keys and notes on the kitchen table before cluing into the black teddy she was wearing. In her head, she even counted down, "3, 2, 1"

"Martha!" And then his voice broke like a teenager's, "Calypso!" 

"I invited her over for dinner. I hope you don't mind," Martha fought her pleased laugh back down. He had stopped dead. His eyes scanned across the kitchen counter where his wife and her new friend were waiting. Both women dressed as heart stopping promises.

"As I was saying," Martha grinned. She had been nervous but seeing her husband stagger helped melt the tension. His eyes bulged, along with another organ, to see her next to her new friend, "Sometimes you just need a good friend to help you through."

Calypso grinned with Martha. Her outfit was dark leather and hugged her body. Martha and Calypso were not mirrors. Calypso was taller, more leonine. Martha was flushed, acting girlish. The wife picked up a flute of sparkling wine; her sip became a gulp. The friend helped settle Martha with a hand up along her spine.

"I don't know. I mean... wow." Curt muttered as he approached his wife. Calypso offered him a flute but he leaned in and kissed his wife before pulling back. He smiled to Calypso, "What is that I smell?"

The women both laughed as he turned his head towards the oven. Light steam wafted up to the vent. 

"I've taught your wife to make jerk chicken," Calypso grinned.

"We thought you might need your strength," Martha found that forcing a smile transitioned easily into a genuine one.

"I can't wait for a taste," Curt grinned. He sipped from his flute before putting the mostly filled glass on the counter. He slipped his arm around his wife. She leaned in onto his shoulder, "I thought jerk chicken was Jamaican. I recall you saying you're from Haiti originally."

"I've always felt at home with a rack of spices and fresh meat," Calypso smiled looking at the Connors'. Curt beamed at the idea of being fresh meat. The women were clearly the spices.

"That's how I've always felt with pipet and a centrifuge," Curt agreed, "Shall we take this to the dining room?"

"You two go ahead, I'll bring the plates." Calypso gave Martha a smile and a push.

"So, how did all this happen?" Curt whispered to his wife when they arrived in the next room.

"Do you like it?"

"Yes!" Martha laughed while trying to give him a look, "I'm still a little confused and a lot shellshocked." 

"Yeah," Martha smiled, "But I've been seeing how you and me and Billy have been since we've got to Florida. It was clear we needed to do something. We need to make some new memories if we wanted to make this a new home."

"Memories? I'll never forget this," Curt smiled and Martha elbowed him before taking a seat at the table. Curt sat at the head to her right.

"I know that you've only ever been with me..." Martha stroked her foot up Curt's leg. 

"I've only ever wanted to be with you," Curt smiled.

"That's sweet, but totally untrue. I was never offended by you being attracted to women," Martha took a deep breath, "So when Calypso suggested this a couple of weeks ago, I was a little horrified at first. Yet we've always been eager to explore and discover and push the boundaries of everything we know and believe. Why should this side of our life be any different? I mean, if you're up for it?"

"So long as you're here with me."

"I hope youre hungry," Calypso carried in three plates. She laid hers and Martha's down next to each other and when she carried the third plate over to Curt, she reached around him and draped herself over his armless sleeve.

"Ravenous!" Curt smiled at Martha. Martha was sitting rigid and vertical. She met Calypso's eyes and relaxed the mite she had needed too. Curt grinned as Calypso messed up his hair a little. There was clearly still spices or something on her little finger. It left a little tingle on his ear and that lack of perfection was the grounding force Curt needed. He reached over and squeezed his wife's left hand. 

"Let's not wait any longer," Martha said as Calypso pulled her seat in next to her.

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Curt looked to see his food had been cut up, discreetly in the kitchen. He smiled at Calypso. He had difficulty cutting his food, even with his prosthetic arm which he wasn't even wearing at the moment. Still it was dehumanizing to be treated like an invalid at the table. He speared a sliver of chicken and took a bite.

"Hmm," He smiled, "I was worried it'd be spicier than this."

"This isn't a night for worries, sweetheart," Martha squeezed Calypso's wrist thank you, "It's for enjoyment."

"Well you two are going to have to work really hard to top this," Curt said chewing through his fourth forkful. The women looked at him until he turned just a shade redder than Spider-man's suit. "I mean... Uh..."

"Thank you," Calypso smiled.

"And don't worry," Martha matched her friend, "I've never been afraid of a little hard work."

After Curt recovered before choking, the three laughed and flirted until Martha had to get up to refill their flutes.

"I want you to know that I'm really glad Martha invited me over tonight," Calypso had finished sometime ago. Curt's plate had been about twice as full as the women's.

"I'm always happy to see Martha and her friends," Curt grinned.

"Oh, stop you," Calypso stuck out her tongue, "You about ready for dessert?"

"I think we could all use something sweet," Martha placed a new flute at Curt's hand before putting her glass down by her plate. She leaned in, Calypso smiled. Their kiss was slow but not tentative.

"Shit!" The base of the flute cracked off when Curt dropped it onto the table. He managed to catch it before it fell down to the tiles. The liquor spilled in a wide splash across the floor.

"Looks like someone's a little eager," Martha smirked from over Calypso's shoulder. The wife looked down to her friend, "I think we can leave this mess until morning."

That decision went over well. Calypso pulled back Curt's chair and Martha led him by his hand. They didn't hurry to the bedroom. Excitement combatted trepidation. Martha walked backwards never letting go of Curt and sometimes watching Calypso over her husband's shoulder for inspiration or encouragement. 

The master bedroom was off the dining room down a short carpeted hallway. The last door on the left. Four big mirrored closet doors overlooked a queen size bed dressed in deep red blankets and black silk sheets. Martha walked backwards until she hit the bed and stepped up and leaned back across dragging Curt up and atop her. They fell together, kissing hard, like teenagers in love. Martha was dressed for the event but Curt was still in a shirt and pants. Agile black fingers slipped together around plucked open his buttons. Martha tugged his shirt out of his pants. Curt just let the women do the work. He tangled his fingers in Martha's red hair. 

"Mmm," Calypso murmured as she pulled the shirt off of Curt's back. She let the garment dangle around his wrist. He'd discard it when he came up for air. Her hands were cool and deft as they skirted the rim of his pants and met Martha's hands at his fly.

"Baby," Curt nipped Martha's lips, before retreating. He knelt straddling the top of her right stocking, "You're incredible."

"She is absolutely gorgeous," Calypso agreed. She had climbed on the bed behind Curt and her hands ran over his belly and across his neck. She kissed the scientist along the neck and he couldn't stop grinning.

"Someone likes the attention," Martha slithered up the bed so she could sit up and take a firmer grip of Curt's trousers. In no hurry, yet wasting no time, her fingers slipped into his boxers. Everything came down. Calypso rolled Curt to the left, Martha brought herself up in the same anticlockwise momentum. Both women pulled a leg off of either ankle and Curt was only wearing white socks. The women set his legs down on the comforter. Martha's fingertips and Calypso's fingernails ran up calves and thighs. Calypso circled the prize, forcing Martha to lead as she gathered her husband in hand.

"Ladies," Curt stroked his hand over Martha's cheek and down her arm. She scooched up closer to his face. They kissed, deep and warm and interupted as Curt gasped.

"Calypso! You just ate!" Martha whispered in mock admonishment. This was the moment for the Connors. This was the moment that would say whether this was a good idea or a bad idea. Calypso's tongue encircled Curt's cock. Her eyes watched Martha. A small nod and slow smile and Curt's cock entered the second woman of his life, "Isn't she beautiful, Curt?"

Curt answered by kissing his wife hard for a short moment. Mad eyed to her warm smile, he watched her slink back down his body,"Martha?"

"It's way too big for her to eat without a friend," Martha grinned. Calypso refused to chuckle around the cock in her mouth but Curt smiled at her immediate response. He met Calypso's eyes. They were hypnotic. A smell, her perfume maybe, reached his nose and he reached for her. Martha settled down next to her friend. Two beautiful faces bracketed his cock and he felt two differently warm tongues start together and move around himself. The cross reach was awkward and he put his hand on Martha's head in that way she hated. The tips of her teeth reminded him and he just fell back ecstatic.

Calypso was measured, artistic. She knew what she wanted from Curt and was going to get it. Her lips rolled over the head giving way for Martha. The redhead took the whole cock without resistance. She loved her husband and had learned his likes and dislikes, mastering them. She felt her hair get tucked behind her ear. Calypso's tongue licked along Martha's ear. The redhead shivered. She rolled her neck back as she rose up off his cock. Curt sat up.

He watched his wife kiss another woman. He had needed the minute to hold back and make sure the night continued on. The scene didn't help. He breathed deeply. The two women broke apart with smiles. To Martha, this was show, she had never been bisexual but she was certainly firing up Curt. That always empowered her. She reached to pull Calypso in for a tight hug. Their lips tentative but not going for another long kiss. Calypso was unfastened; Martha was untied. The women turned up to Curt as their tops slipped forward off their arms. Their breasts high on display.

"Wow," Curt articulated. He rose up. He pulled his wife to him. They kissed and he rolled her down, nudging Calypso aside to lay down his wife. He felt Calypso's touch on his shoulder, arm, hip and sex, unfamiliar but welcome. His wife was below him. His and Calypso's fingers stripped away her panties.

"Thank you," Martha whispered as she wrapped her arms around her husband. Her light lipstick smudge on his and Calypso's lips already left a streak on his earlobe. Calypso's hands opened her, she was ready and guided him, he was fighting his end until he sat deep inside his wife. Their third member had climbed behind, another layer warm against Curt's back. Martha squealed warmly as they moved. Slowly, undeniably, Calypso's hips rocked into Curt's back and became the metronome of their sex. She leaned in tight, bringing the couple tight together. MArtha's legs wrapped her husbands thighs. Her heels settled behind Calypso's knees. 

Calypso didn't interrupt she was only the rudder of their sailing ship. Martha whispered in her husband's ear. Their rhythm conveyed the comforter down the bed. Their sex grew heavy.

Martha loved Curt but they both knew how her body worked. Between the her left hand teased her clit converting their emotional bond into a growing sexual one. Had Calypso seen she would have taken over her friend's duty but Martha was more content to keep her pleasure a Connors' affair. Curt fought back. He breaths were grunts and his jaw was tight as he resisted. He could have fought the urge in his mind but he could never tear his mind truly away from his wife. Calypso's foreign but caring touch impelled him on but he refused to crash first. Martha soon gurgled and sighed.

"More, a little more," She moaned and received what she needed. Calypso's fingers brushed aside Martha's sweaty bangs. The women matched eyes and the wife caught her friend's glare and inhaled the erotic perfume. Her orgasm seemed to start at her fingertips. Rushing through her blood to her lungs before racing off down her legs to her toes. More energy flowed into and through her. Her breaths rasped out of her mouth. Curt kissed her throat and she slowly edged back. Her smile and eyes sharing a the same brilliant happiness.

"A little more Curt," Calypso urged, "Join your wife."

"No Curt," Martha brushed his cheek, "Ease out," She looked up at Calypso, "I didn't invite you into our bed as a witness Calypso."

"Are you sure?" Calypso smiled.

"I am," Martha lolled back in her glow, "C'mon Curt. Give her a try."

"Martha, may I?" He asked with a wide grin. She slapped him playfully with her sex soaked fingers.

"Because you asked so nicely," She said. Their smiles mirrored. Their pace degraded until it stopped. Calypso edged Curt backwards. His wife was aglow with satisfaction, wet and her reddened complexion. Calypso laid Curt down aside his wife and Martha cuddled in.

The spouses watched each other as Calypso climbed astride Curt's hips. Their guest in the bedroom swore to heaven as her wet sex audibly slid down Curt's cock. He held her by the hip and dragged her forward as she descended.

"You are a wonderful friend Martha," Calypso said. She looked down and bared a more predatory smile than Martha had the sense left to notice, "I'm honored to be welcome here."

"This is really kind of fun," Martha admitted. She had actually imagined a thousand different things shifting this from awkward to a disaster and not one had come to pass. She snuggled up higher against her husband. He turned and took her breasts with his teeth and she giggled. It was a warm happy event.

"Oh, please," Calypso begged as she laid her hands just below Curt's ribs and began to accelerate. The whole experience was alien to Curt. Martha moved differently, felt differently, enjoyed differently. He gasped and rolled his shoulders. He chewed the inside of his cheek. Calypso started gasping. The warm caring night grew insistent and urgent. Curt looked at his wife and knew any fight he made to stay in control was destined to be a losing one.

"Martha!" That earned Curt a kiss that should have drowned him. Calypso's hand pushed down on Martha's red hair. Black hips rolled harder on Curt's cock.

Calypso spasmed, roiling from hips to throat in swift violent throes. Her moans were stringent and wet. She clamped her teeth shut. She squeezed her knees tighter on Curt's hips. The insoluble capsule came up her esophagus and was caught against the back of her teeth.

"Did you see that, honey?" Martha sat back at her side and watch her friend ride her husband hard, "You're giving her a good one. A very good one."

"I..." No other words existed in Curt's vocabulary. He forced himself to sit up, Martha's hand on his back gave fruition to his second attempt. His hand was holding Calypso by her breast. She essed forward, her arms snaking behind his head and pulling him into a kiss. It was hot but Curt couldn't provide the same passion for her as he did for Martha. The lips at his neck told him she saw that and liked it. Calypso had no such limitations her tongue swept under his lips. Curt's eyes flashed opened as something harder set against his uper teeth and was pulled hard to the left by Calypso's agile tongue. His fight had just ended. He was ready to release but the shock of powdered liquor dissolving cold in his saliva ended him. He didn't push her off as his body convulsed. She slipped back for air. Trails of spit that connected their lips frosted at his end for just a moment and then he shrieked into a fang filled hiss.

"Curt? Curt! Cuuuuurrrt![1]" Martha's cries were accompanied by a hasty retreat with into a heap on the floor. She looked up, wide and teary eyed to Calypso. Curt thrashed harder. Calypso cackled. Martha screamed. Flesh twisted and bone cracked. Martha threw herself to the floor dodging the taloned slash of a reformed arm. 

********

"Reading again?" Debra looked up to see the big blond, Brock, on the gurney propped up and looking at her from across the lab. Debra closed the dog eared paperback on her finger.

"A filthy habit," She stopped a grin, "I really should be watching more TV."

'That's probably what I miss most at Ravencroft," Eddie sighed, "I don't have access to the library. I used to put away a novel every week."

"Yeah?" She turned on her stool. He had a great view of her legs. She saw that he never really left her face.

"Absolutely," He grinned, "Hitting up the library was one of the few acts of freedom I had in the foster home."

"Oh, I didn't know," she said sheepishly.

"It's alright. I made the best of it while I was there," He fell into a few moments of nostalgic sadness. After blinking, he looked back to see Debra watching him interestedly, "So, what are you reading?"

"Um," Her dark cheeks flushed and she looked at her feet which were trying not to kick, "It's called Little Black Duck by Kaine.[2] It's, uh, it's a bit smutty."

"Nice," Eddie grinned, "Nothing wrong with that."

"What do you read?" She pushed ahead and away from her own book.

"Everything and anything, but I do have a love of science fiction. Especially the big space operas."

"I know what you mean," Debra smiled, "There's just something romantic about how far from home our minds can take us."

"Nothing is beyond us," Eddie agreed. They both heard the light thumping overhead but weren't processing it.

"I really love medical mysteries," Debra smiled as Eddie visibly perked up, "There's this one author that--"

The hiss of claws on slate and the shriek of bending metal played backup to shattering glass. Debra screamed and sent her stool clattering as she backed away in a hurry from the glass shower. Eddie twisted from the damage but couldn't avoid nicks and cuts. The giant man-sized Lizard was naked. Green razorback scales rolled over massive muscle groups and reached out as he twisted left and right bearing a mouthful of daggers and a tail as thick as debra.

"Doctor Connors?" Eddie gasped. The face of the Lizard twisted towards him, stabbing the air with his forked tongue. 

"Connors? What?" Debra asked as she hammered 911 into her cell phone. 

"Doctor Connors, it's me Eddie. Calm down, calm down, " Eddie wasn't badly hurt but a cut across his forehead was bleeding profusely. The Lizard sidled towards him, mouth open and eyes red. 

"I need police, army, everything!" Debra hissed quietedly and panickedly into her phone, "A giant Lizard is attacking Connors Warren lab at ESU!"

The phone disappeared from the side of her ear with a harsh kick of wind and an impact into her fingers. An elegant black woman in a hide leather slip dress and animal bone jewerly retracted a hand. Confident in leaving Debra on the floor, Calypso approached th Lizard with a confident swagger.

"My pet, that isn't the blood I promised you." Debra wrinkled her nose at the sweet toxic smell that flowed off the woman. The Lizard snapped it's tongue hungrily at Eddie Brock. Eddie squirmed, unabled to flee, he flexed away from the monster. Seconds felt like final hours, the Lizard shifted away and turned back towards Calypso. Her hand cupped the Lizard's jaw and the reptile followed the woman meekly.

"What do you want?" Debra pleaded quietly as she took the long way around the room. The door was near enough that she could flee if she so chose but she kept her circuit, making slowly towards Brock.

"Not me!" Eddie caught her eyes and mouthed to Debra, "Gene cleanser."

Debra looked to the refrigerated vaults where the gene cleanser was held. There was nothing to be taken from there. Not with the terrifying black woman running her hands over the safe. The Lizard scritched up the tiles as he waited like a coiled spring at her shoulder.

"Here it must be," Calypso decided. Her hand dragged across the door. A trail of silvery liquor quickly evaporated behind her hand. She walked on and the Lizard raised his head straight up. Tongue flicked and teeth flashed. He screamed and Debra ducked tight behind Eddie's gurney. The havoc of the Lizard crashing in through the skylight had been frightening. The wrenching, shrieking, popping noise as the Lizard bit and sheared away the lock and hinges of the vault was terrifying. Hissing like windstorm the Lizard retreated clawing and biting the amputated door like a dog with a bone.

The small safe was home to a single test tube rack. Four test tubes sat in the rack. All had been filled with what was clearly blood. She picked out the first test tube. A foil seal was torn and the tube was only a third as full as its brothers. She sniffed the blood.

"Spoiled!" She said as a curse but put the test tube back with reverence. The next one she pulled out and broke its seal, "Much better." She returned sample SM-08 to the rack and pilfered the other two samples. That sweet toxic smell permeated the air again. The Lizard shrunk meekly as he was mounted by Calypso. He left gouges in countertops and the stone rim of the skylight as he smuggled her away.

"Is there any gene cleanser left?" Eddie turned towards Debra. She sponged the away the blood from his face with a fist of paper towels.

"There's always a few vials," She nodded.

"It's the only thing that can stop him."

********

"No, I was thinking I'd go to band camp again for August," Gwen curled her legs under her as she spoke on the phone.

"I'll miss you, babe," Harry responded from his own home, "I really don't know if I could get through a whole month without you."

"Well, my mind isn't completely made up yet." Gwen needed her courage to talk above a whisper. She knew that she really cared for Harry. She felt his health and happiness like the world on her shoulders. She knew she could carry it, she had to.

"I'm always here," She warmed up to hear his smile, "Just call me when you're thinking about this. We can work through anything, together."

"I know we can," Gwen wore a small smile. "I'll talk to you later."

"Sure, love you, babe."

"I... love you too." Gwen clicked off her phone and tossed it. It bounced over the cushions of her couch.

"You alright, Gwenny?" Her dad peaked in from the kitchen. Gwen's cheeks burned red and she sat up immediately straight. She hadn't known her father was home. He didn't react to her reaction. He just walked into their living room. He had plates with grilled cheese sandwiches in either hand.

"I'm OK," Gwen sidled aside so her father could join her on the couch. "I'm just trying to decide what I want to do for the summer."

"I thought you had your heart set on band camp?" He asked with a small smile, "Isn't that what you did all that fundraising for?"

"I didn't actually do that much, not this year."

"Honey, I'm pretty sure that that camp will be open until the end of days with how much you raised for them last year," He took a bite of his sandwich and didn't quite finish chewing before he continued, "You deserve to go. You still love it, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do," Gwen sighed, "But with Harry and everything, I don't know."

"You can't put your life on hold or give up on what you love for some boy," He brushed aside his daughter's hair and made sure she was looking up at him, "Any boy that would ask that of you doesn't really love you, just the dreamed up ideas he has of you."

"You're right, dad," Gwen sighed, "Harry will come around."

George Stacey smiled. He took another bite. "We need something to wash these down."

"Glass of milk for me, please," Gwen asked.

"You read my mind."

********

"Robbie! What is this and what is it doing on my desk!" J Jonah barrelled out of his office waving around a printout in his left hand. Betty Brant went white. She went red. She almost went under her desk. Her deep breath was only successful on her fourth attempt. She pushed out her chair and walked to Jameson and Robertson.

"It's well written," Robbie said with a cool tone, "A few days too late to be front page. A bit too editorial as well."

"And why was it waiting for me?" Jameson paced the length of the city desk. Foswell kept his eyes down and was typing long past his final period. 

"I don't know," Robbie offered back the printout but Jameson batted it away, "I didn't authorize it."

"I wrote this Mr Jameson," Betty kept te butterflies regimented in her stomach as she picked the paper out of the air.

"You! You're my assistant! I can't have you running off and covering the news! This place will fall apart!" Betty took the back handed compliment with grace but had no chance to rebut before Jameson stormed back to his office. Robbie turned to Betty.

"This should have come to me," Robbie warned her.

"I thought... With Ned in prison... We'd need another... I'm ready."

"You want to be a reporter?" Robbie asked, "Well you got to write more than yesterday's page twelve. You need news. You need to show Mr Jameson he didn't lose a great reporter, he's just discovered his newest talent. And if this is the best you can do," Robbie picked the sheet out of Betty's wavering hand, "You don't want Mr Jameson to see you spend any of the time you've already committed to him on this."

"But--I--I can do this."

"I have no doubt," Robbie said, "But I also have no proof. The Daily Bugle can't print our hopes. The Daily Bugle can only print facts."

"And whatever it takes to tie those facts together." Betty jumped at Peter Parker's Jolly Jonah impression. Not that she thought her employer had somehow sneaked up on her, the Rhino made less noise when he tramped through the offices, but she hadn't been prepared for anyone coming up behind her.

"Peter, you're looking worse for wear," Robbie said guardedly, "I'd never thought I'd see you in here again."

"Yeah, I thought snapping photos of that little redhead of yours would be more fun than chasing Spidey though landfills." Betty smirked now that her heart was beating like a human's and not a hummingbird's. 

"Turns out not all bosses are as understanding as Mr Jameson," Peter reached into his backpack and pulled out an envelope of photos. Robbie pressed Betty's first attempt to the back of Peter's envelope and quickly shuffled through the photos.

"Neither of you have what the Bugle needs," Robbie announced after a second trek through the photos. Betty slumped. Peter had to cool his hackles. Robbie might be harsh but he was certainly truthfully so. He looked both aspiring reporters in the face, "But you certainly have what the other needs. Betty, you want a byline? Peter you want your job back? Bring me something no one else has. A fresh article by Betty Brant and accompanying photos by Peter Parker. Until you can do that, you're probably in the jobs you should be."

********

The Silver Spoon had become less of a staple in the social scene of M3's in-crowd since the school year had wound down. Today's congregation was the work of Glory. She had spent much of the summer vacation lazing around with Kenny. She and MJ had shared a few texts but otherwise she had been out of touch with her girls. She almost regretted it.

"I had told Rand to bring somebody for you Lizzie," Sally reached for Liz's hand and squeezed, "But you know how big dumb jocks can be."

"I've got experience in that area," Liz smiled, "How are you holding up Sha Shan?"

"Oh, I think I've got the beast under control," She beamed.

"You're not supposed to be friends with your ex's new girl, Lizzie," Sally tutted, "It's not done."

"Well it should be done," Liz brushed aside the contempt, "Flash can be a great guy. I'm glad he's with someone who makes him be that guy."

"Thanks, Liz," Sha Shan gave a half smirk.

"This is a disaster!" Sally fell back in her chair and crossed her arms. Her face in a harsh pout as she regrouped. Flash looked over at Rand. They both laughed.

"What's so funny?" Sally growled.

"This disaster will be of biblical proportions," Flash attempted to brush it away.

"What does that mean!" Sally whipped back to Rand. 

"What he means is old testament, miss Avril, real wrath of God type stuff."

"Exactly." Gloria chimed in behind a smile.

"Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!" Rand continued in Sally's ever reddening face.

"Forty years of darkness!" Flash laughed. Sha Shan's look of confusion confirmed their plans for the night.

"The dead rising from the grave!" Liz said in her best ghostly voice.

"Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria!" Gloria was nearly breathless from laughing by the time she reached cats.

"You're all a bunch of jackasses!" Sally elbowed Rand out of the booth so she could storm off.

"I better go calm her down," Rand said as way of apologizing to the group before he put on a show of concern and tried to catch up with the power walking Avril.

"Well, I see I need to educate my girlfriend," Flash got up and Sha Shan took his offered hand with a cocked eyebrow of amusement.

"Educate me how?" Sha Shan blushed a little. Liz caught that with a soft smile.

"You didn't recognize a quote from the greatest movie ever," Flash announced.

"You've already showed me Anchorman[4], Flash," Sha Shan rolled her eyes.

"There's a five way tie for first," He shook his head, "Tonight I show you Ghostbusters."

"Good night, guys," Liz waved as their group outing dissolved until she was the third wheel on a Glory and Kenny date. She still had half her latte to go. She looked over at Glory, Kenny was shaking his head.

"What's wrong Kenny?"

"Anchorman? The best movie of all time? Inconceiveable!"

"Wow, baby! I guess you do know what that word means." Gloria giggled.

"What'd I say?" Kenny looked at Liz a little cross-eyed.

"You'll figure it out when you're older," Liz licked the foam off of her upper lip. She slipped her phone out of her pocket, "I think I'm going to leave you to your Westley. I'm going to call my Prince Humperdinck."

"I was supposed to tell Peter, MJ said hi," Gloria got up and gave her friend a hug good-bye, "You want to pass that on for me?"

Liz answered with a smile and kept the "Fuck that noise." in her head. She scrolled down to Peter's number and placed the phone at her ear. She hit voice mail at the door.

"Hi, handsome, hope you're not too busy chasing Spider-man to--" That Liz's scream didn't break the glass walls of the Silver Spoon was something of a miracle. Her dropped phone shattered off the concrete.

Liz shivered rigidly as the huge scaled snout sniffed down her torso and hovered over her crotch. Saliva flood fangs flew open and bracketed her waist. She couldn't run for the taloned claws pinching tight her upper arms. 

"No, my pet," A toxic sweet aroma pulled The Lizard's teeth away from Liz's delicious nutrients, "The worm goes on the hook. We want to eat the fish. Now let's take her where he will know to look for us."

"Liz! Liz!" Kenny slammed out through the door in time to see the green scaled shadow disappear into the early New York night. Gloria appeared at his side, one of the many witnesses calling 911. Kenny picked up the wreck of Liz's phone, "She doesn't have her GPS. How will they know how to find her?"

"It's a seven foot tall Lizard!" Gloria squeaked as she hung up, "I'm sure that will stick out in a city!"

********

The sun beat down on the beach of Grand Cayman. Yawning, Flint Marko awoke and smiled, just for a moment. The beach was littered with vacationers. Women in bikinis or just the bottoms were everywhere. And while many weren't worth the first look, The Sandman didn't have to look much further to find a few worth a hundredth. He looked down at himself. Damn. In his, nap his trunks had reverted to pants and his green striped shirt. He rolled his shoulders and reset his look. Only one man had caught the transformation. He just lowered his sunglasses and sipped his mojito in the shade of the beachside bar.

"How was your first shoot?" Lily had opted for the bottoms only dress code of the beach. Her dark complexion beckoning the sun and reinforcing her tan. Mary Jane wore a full pink bikini, more risque than any she had worn back home but almost conservative in the crowd.

"It went great but he might have been the weirdest photographer ever," MJ recalled, "I can still feel those starfish on my tits. Starfishes?"

"Starfish," Lily confirmed, "And nowhere near the weirdest."

MJ didn't follow that tempting bait. But scouted around the beach. She could hardly tan and had applied her weight in sunscreen. She caught the shade of the bar.

"What's the drinking age?" She asked. 

"Supermodel,"[3] Lily smirked. MJ replied the smack on her ass with a false gasp and smirk. She traveled across the white sand leaving her trail of flip flop footprints alonge the way. The bar was helmed by a fit bald black man in his thirties.

"What would you like, senorita?"

"Um..." MJ hesitated as she dragged her eyes across the racks of liquor bottles. There were a few cocktails advertised on chalk boards. MJ hadn't lived her life like a good girl but she hadn't been a drinker in New York. She hesitated another moment.

"My friend here fixes a delicious mojito," The other patron at the bar sipped from his drink. He put it on the counter, "You won't be disappointed..."

"Mary Jane," MJ brushed her hair back over her right ear before accepting the man's hand. He was handsome, for a man old as her father. His blonde hair dye job wasn't the best and MJ didn't care for the mustache but there was something attractive in the confidence with which he carried himself. She turned back to the bartender, "Yes, a Mojito sounds great."

"My name is Roman. What brings you to Grand Cayman?" He asked offering her the stool. MJ accepted his hand as she settled herself next to him.

"I'm here for a shoot," She smiled, "I'm a model, working with Roderick Kingsley."

"He certainly has an eye for beauty," He drew a smile and a blush out of her.

"For the lady," The bartender placed her mojito at her left hand.

"Thank you," She smiled as her companion slid the tip to the bartender. MJ had to admit that with each passing moment she found this man more interesting. Combined with the freedom her escape her had offered her and the atmosphere of paradise, she felt invincible. She absorbed everything and smelted into confidence. Amazing how that can all disappear when she didn't look for her hand and underestimated her reach knocking over her drink and splashing across the bar.

"Oh no, I'm so sor--"

"Don't you dare apologize," He interupted picking up a napkin and dabbing away the liquor that had splashed his Hawaiian shirt, "I never do."

********

Peter looked at Liz's number and sent her to voicemail phone back into his jean pocket.

"You're a little warmly dressed for July," Betty met Peter down at their hot dog stand. Well, that's how he remembered it. She thought of it as Joe's.

"What's the scoop?" Peter asked having swung over after getting her urgent text.

"The Lizard's back!" Betty bounced in her flats with radiant glee, "You want to make history a second time with me?"

"The Lizard?" Peter was far more reserved about the news, "Can't be, someone must have gotten the mutagen..."

"There's a mutagen?" Betty's lips fought back her smile to put on a professional look, "C'mon Foswell's on his way over to the Bronx Zoo. I was hoping you had gotten you're Spider-man phone call and we could go to where the real action."

"Phone call? What are yo--" His phone erupted a second time. Gloria, did she even have Peter's number?

"That's him! Answer it, answer it!" Betty's enthusiasm was reaching lethally toxic levels. 

Peter made a show to cover his identity. Flippantly, he put The Osberry to his ear. Eyes straight at Betty he figured Gloria would take the joke and he'd be OK, "Hey, this about The Lizard?"

"Oh my God, how did you know? It has Liz!" Peter flinched from the volume.

"Spider-man," Answering Gloria's question and deceiving Betty, "Where are you?"

"We're at The Silver Spoon, the cops are just showing up now." Her panic was receding into a capable terror.

"Alright," Peter said, "We'll get her home safe."

"Her, her who?" Betty asked with at least a little bit of a worry in her voice now that her big scoop was attached to a possible victim.

"Girl got abducted from the Silver Spoon in Midtown." Peter explained, "The cops are on scene. You start there, I'll go after Spidey. I'll text you when we have him."

"Alright," Betty nodded. She turned and hurried out to the street to flag down a taxi. Peter twisted and disappeared in an nearby deadend to pull on the spider mask. He took to the webs the before his clothes and back had been secured under a fire escape. The Lizard was back. The Lizard! Wasn't the gene cleanser supposed to have fixed that? What if it wasn't strong enough? What if it was temporary? No focus, pick your targets and move forward. Spider-man raced to ESU.

********

"Betty Brant, Daily Bugle, What's going on here?" The Bugle's newest reporter elbowed to the front of the cordon.

Two uniformed police officers ignored her as they took statements from the few witnesses. A third, a native woman in her early thirties, smiled at the rigidity of the older of the two taking statements. She then walked over to the cordon.

"Ms Brant, was it? My name is Captain Jean DeWolff," She introduced herself.

"Thank you Captain DeWolff," Betty clicked on the voice recorder app of her phone underneath a notepad, "I was hoping you could tell me what happened here."

"What we have is a witnessed kidnapping," Captain DeWolff said as Betty scribbled, "We are enacting an Amber Alert for one Elizabeth Allen. She's a seventeen year old Puerto Rican girl, five foot seven and a hundred and twenty pounds. She goes by Liz and was last seen wearing a purple and pink t-shirt, light brown shorts and white tennis shoes. We have just put out the APB."

"And the description of the kidnapper?" She looked up at the look on Captain DeWolff's, "Kidnappers?"

"There was an African American woman in her mid-twenties and..." She narrowed her eyes, "An unidentified male."

"My sources have suggested The Lizard had been seen," Betty Brant met a defensive glare. 

"I will not engage in baseless speculation Ms Brant," The Captain said, "Our community outreach will supply The Bugle with a picture of the victim. Hopefully, with the help of the community we will bring her home soon and safely."

"Hopefully, Spider-man will have her home by the time the presses roll tonight."

"No, Ms Brant," DeWolff said sharply, "I spoke with you because the Bugle has been an ally in our endeavours to crack down on vigilantism. Hopefully, Spider-man will stay at home and let trained and accountable professionals take care of the citizens of New York. Good evening, Ms Brant."

Jean DeWolff walked away from Betty's "Just a few more questions, please." Betty clicked off her app and switched over to texting as she wriggled back out of the wall gawkers.

"GIRL missing from silver spoon liz allen Think it was the Lizard but not confirmed woman involved as well" she fired her first text off to Peter. She followed with "Where are you"

It was a few minutes after she got back. "Started at the ESU lab. Lizard was here. Talked to a tech but this must have happened before Silver Spoon. I know Liz."

"Oh, shit, Peter." Betty muttered as she read the text.

"Peter Parker? Do you know him from The Bugle?" A shrill black teenager under the shadow of a giant of an Asian teen.

"Yes," Betty turned quickly clicking back on her recorder.

"It took Liz! And then the woman--The woman said that she was going to use Liz as bait."

"Bait? For who?"

"We don't know! Maybe her dad, Mr Allen owns several hotels and has money," The black girl was on the verge of breaking down. Her boyfriend, clearly, settled his hands on her shoulders and she took a deep breath, "It doesn't make any sense. She said something about going somewhere he'd know to look for her."

"OK," Betty put her hand on the girl's arm just under the big guy's hand, "I'm going to pass this on to Peter. He's following Spider-man right now."

"He's not going to get hurt! Tell him to be careful!"

"I will, I promise," Betty gave a reassuring smile. She turned back to her phone and was interrupted again.

"Betty, hi! What have you got for me?" Frederick Foswell was a half inch too close to the assistant-cum-reporter.

"Nice try, Foswell," She grinned, "But I've got my own leads and I'm running them down."

"Good on you, kid," Foswell smiled, "I don't mind giving you a hand up though, Bronx zoo was a bust."

"You're getting soft, Foswell," Betty said as she walked on.

"Better than getting too hard, kid," Foswell waved, "Write the hell out of this story."

Betty waved down another cab as she updated Peter again.

********

The old brownstone in Noho had barely six days of rest before the next couple had moved in. A newlywed couple had dug in with relish. It was a beautiful home and in a warm neighborhood. The new couple loved the old finish outdoors and the renovated insides. A new boiler gurgled silently in the basement just under newly laid hardwood floors. They had christened the kitchen counters, the staircase bannisters and the pristine new shower. They had quickly cluttered the rooms with old comfortable furniture and a clash of artwork and personal photos. The kitchen smelled more often of delivered chinese than home cooked meals but they were happy to call it home. If they had any complaints they were for the long claw gouge marks on their front door and stone walls. The giant cold blooded monster resting on their roof also messed with their feng shui.

"Sit quietly, petite," Calypso bade Liz. The July night air was warm but the teenager shivered. The sickengly toxic scent had lost its sweetness and the Lizard rested on the still sun warm roofing tiles. He barely moved.

"I don't know what you want," Liz had exhausted her panic and was in a sort of ground emotional state.

"You'll serve your purpose," Calypso said with an air of compassion, "And then we'll be done with you."

Those words did little to reassure Liz and so she waited. Her thin form was huddled behind a brick outcropping and her arms were wrapped tightly around her kness. The little breeze chilled her more than its temperature.

Suddenly, causing Liz to retreat away, the Lizard rose up and cocked his head down towards Broadway. Calypso licked her lips as a manicured nail slashed the seal on her stolen vial. Deep under hers and Liz's senses, a coppery taste tingled the Lizard's predator's brain. His vertically slitted eyes shed their yellow sclera for vivid red.

********

Texting while webswinging was an idiot's game. Even with his Spider-sense hyperactively attuned and the Osberry webbed to his wrist, Spider-man narrowly avoided a crosstown bus and a flower shop's awning. The lab had been a bust. Another pair of cops were leaving as he arrived but from the skylight Spider-man could tell the Lizard had torn open a refrigerator and promptly left. Spider-man had worried the Jupiter Spores had been in there. Betty's description of a black woman reminded Spider-man of Calypso. The pit of his stomach grew cold remembering the fall he had given Kraven. Betty said he would have gone somewhere familiar and said the Bronx zoo was out. The Lizard had once retreated underground, but that wasn't familiar, that was, to a reptile, comfortable. Spider-man picked his best guess and swung uptown towards the old Connors home. After a half dozen swings, the hero sent his unpunctuated text to Betty about where he was "following" Spider-man. He them had to tear the phone from his wrist to set it back under his utility belt. He had another near miss with traffic.

The silhouette on the brownstone was unmistakable. The riffling fur lined hood, the Jesus Christ pose, her incredible curves. How had Calypso discovered the Lizard? How had the Lizard overcome the gene cleanser? He had nearly as many questions as he had tingles.

"Whoa! Lizzie! I'm happy to see you too but I'm not as much of a hugger as you!" The Lizard had rocketed up from the side of the home as Peter moved to set down on the roof. He dodge the rake but Calypso's quick hand had splashed a cool red liquid across his emblem. Spider-man landed one hand, webbed the rear foot of the Lizard and used his wall-sticking fingers to spin on his shoulder and kick the momentarily staggered reptile across the snout. He kept spinning, throwing his camera from his belt to catch in the window of the neighbor's home.

"You've knocked down my love, Spider-man," The witch hissed better than her Lizard, "But the hunter will not stay down! None of your enemies shall stay down! I shall raise an army of your hated foes and shred you limb from limb for what you have done!"

"Are you sure? Because I have to say you don't look like you have the upper body strength to lift up Rhino." Spider-man weaved under slash but the Lizard spun totally around and the tail him him like a ton of bricks. He grunted hard for the camera, the light from his flash perfectly capturing his brutal blow. He skipped over the tiles one the roof away from the camera.

"Peter?" Liz rose up and swiveled her head towards the flash. The street lights didn't reach and the houses were dark. She looked at the Lizard, the witch and the wardrobe but saw she was no longer under any scrutiny. Another flash. "Peter."

"You know Lizzie, I get how the girls go for wild for the shirtless guys with rock hard abs and steel tough scales but you really rocked that labcoat," Spider-man kicked up off the roof and leapfrogged over the charging claws and fangs. He watched the tail this time. He caught the bludgeon in a bear hug. He set his feet down on the roof's stone rim. He used every muscle from his ankles to his shoulders and with every ounce of force he could muster he levered The Lizard over in a savage suplex. The hard tiles cracked and shattered under the back of the Lizard. The frame of the house moaned with stress. The Lizard hissed with rage.

"You won't stop my pet with such trivial blows," Calypso sashayed closer and the cloying air envigored The Lizard. Spider-man was diving off the edge of the roof. The Lizard streamed past him with millimeters of air between razor sharp talons and vital organs, "He is a weapon of madness. Sheer hunger. The perfect predator."

A small Toyota had caved in and had been shredded apart where the Lizard had landed. The monster barely took the moment to reorient himself before soaring the distance back to the home and scrabbling up the wall with terrifying speed. Spider-man had landed face to Calypso and the tingles shrieking.

"He's a good man not your filthy pet," Spider-man snarled. He crouched flat to the ground as the The Lizard's head rose over the lip of the roof. Fangs slammed shut in the air once occupied by the hero. Spider-man snapped a tight bear hug around the Lizard's jaws. One hand webbing over scales and across bloodshot eyes. Flailing claws were too close to dodge perfectly. Nicks littered the legs of his uniform. Scaled nostrils flared and vibrated. Spider-man shifted all his weight and the pair corkscrewed along the tiles of the roof. Spider-man managed to let go and let the Lizard fly from the roof.

"Hyaah!" Shrieked Liz. She had managed to slink down a lattice on the backside of the house. Her feet had just touched the ground when the monster came crashing from overhead. A little garden, just beginning to bear sprouts dusted up under the bulk of the Lizard.

"Li--Girl get out of there!" Spider-man yelled as he dove over the edge and towards the Lizard. Liz had smartly run off to the next home. She had seen a few flashes from the windows and was certain Peter had broken into the home and was taking pictures from the upstairs window. She banged and cried on the back door when she found it lock. No one was coming to let her in. She looked back.

The Lizard had reared up as Spider-man had leapt at him. There was little one could do when one was commited to being a ballistic projectile. The Lizard raked a strong blow across Spider-man's chest. Spider-man cried out. The tail impacted the rake and Spider-man was a line drive down the first base line. He hit the wall bodily.

"That's the way my pet," A new smell followed a drizzle onto Spider-man's mask, "Taste your prey."

"Don't be rude, Lizzie," Spider-man fired his web perfectly vertical as the monster rushed towards him. The line caught; Calypso swore. Spider-man pulled her down with him, "You should wait until the lady is seated."

Powders ands perfumes, talisman and tonics, scents and spices were meticulously hung from Calypso's belt. Spider-man caughter her around the waist, turning her aside from Lizard's rampage but encouraging all the elixers to shatter and spill. The Lizard stopped dead. He was horrified and confused by the cloud of stink that he had run into. He scrambled away and leapt the far house.

"What have you do--" Calypso tried to chew him out but his webbing got in and over her mouth. She was affixed to the wall. A business card stuck over her ear.

"You throw a killer party, girl," Spider-man threw his web to leave, "But you may want to dial it back on the perfume, perhaps your dance partner will stick around longer."

Spider-man took off after the fleeing Lizard.

Liz had had to run four more houses down to find a path out to the street. She was hurrying down to find a young woman furiously scribbling on a pad of paper as the last flashes of Peter's camera disappeared from the window.

"Peter!" Liz shouted and started to run towards the house. The Lizard and the crazy woman appeared to have disappeared.

"Wait!" The young woman shouted chasing after her. The sounds of police sirens exploded and the flashes of red and blue were on their way down the street. Both women ran.

"Elizabeth Allen!" Shouted the young woman. Liz stopped and the short haired brunette caught up.

"It's just Liz," Liz panted. Whatever adrenaline seeing Spider-man and the Lizard fight had given her. it was petering out. 

"I'm Betty. Betty Brant, Daily Bugle."

"You're here with Peter?"

"Yes," Betty smiled, "He's helping me find you."

"He came for me?" Liz's shellshocked look rotted into a smile.

"Yes," Betty gave that tidbit to her, "He also needs this to get back into The Bugle. You can help him if you'll answer my questions."

"I have to let him know I'm OK," Liz shook her head at Betty, "I--I don't have my phone."

"I'll text him," Betty assured Liz, "He'll know."

Liz watched Betty type into her smartphone while catching her breath. "Thank you, Betty."

"Anything for a friend of Peter's," Betty smiled and tapped send.

********

"They really should put the frequence you have to go into subterranean tunnels on the first page of the superheroing pamphlet," Spider-man grumbled, "Become a superhero! Learn the taste of exploding pumpkins! Your best friend gets the girl! Hated in the papers! Black Cat! Oh, well I guess there is an upside."

He had followed the chilling screams, slamming doors, squealing tires and huntings hisses up Lafayette Street for a couple of blocks before he saw the gouge torn out of the curb. The storm grate and a chunk of the concrete were under a deep divot in the wall across the street. Spider-man trusted his spider-sense and dove in. 

"This is what straight A's gets you," He muttered. The trail beneath was less obvious but enough tears in the walls and ceiling chased after the Lizard. Peter ran along the wall, the slow moving runnel of rotting death on the floor made him pick the slightly stale mould of the wall instead. He chased The Lizard down stream but didn't travel far. The tunnel poured into a large chamber. A grated balcony ran the perimeter a half foot over the influent stream. The flecks of rust and other detritus told Spider-man it wasn't always high enough. He leapt the grate and landed on the yellow guard rail. Thick pipes carrying steam and cold water ran along the roof and through walls into other tunnels. Six more streams dripped their slow moving sludge into the middle of the room where a wider slightly steeper tunnel ran the waste towards the East River. The Lizard rested with his eyes closed in the confluence of pipes and elbows.

"There's a good monster," Spider-man said softly. The nostrils move towards him and flared. Spider-man went stock still. The eyes open. The angry blood vessels had retreated but those yellow eyes were no less threatening, "C'mon Doctor Connors, it's a nice time for a nap."

Wondering if reptiles liked lullabies before realizing he didn't know any, Spider-man watch The Lizard shut his eyes. Peter reached into the back of his utility belt. The first reason he had checked the ESU lab wasn't to see if The Lizard had been there, it was to fetch a vial of gene cleanser. 

"Aw, poop," He said as he found the cracked vial had leaked all over his tailbone. At websling speed it would only take him a few minutes to go fetch another vial. He reached for a spider tracer. His phone beeped with a text message.

Lizard's eye flashed opened and he screamed a roar. Spider-man rapidly leapt to the right. He avoided the charge and managed to throw his tracer The yellow steel guard rail didn't shear through from the Lizard's claws but they were gouged deep enough to show they were made from hollow tubes.

Spider-man twisted ready to fight but the Lizard dived down into the muck and took off down the tunnel.

"Dammit! If he goes too deep there's no way my phone will be able to track him!" Spider-man had one choice he had to bring The Lizard back to the lab. He swung down to the lower tunnels after The Lizard, "Ew."

No light was down this deep. Above storm drain grates had let in streetlights and the central collector had its own electric lights but through the cloying slick tunnel, Spider-man only had the spider-sense under his skin and the spidey signal on his belt. Turning on the red-faced light set his spider-sense off and The Lizard leapt at him.

"I just figured I'd set the mood first, Lizzie! Waiting makes it even more special," Spider-man kicked off the wall and punched Lizard straight across the face.

"Sssssspider-man," The Lizard snarled.

"Wait, what?" Spider-man looked up in time to see the spinning tail. His surprise overrode his alarm system and sent in skipping across the black water. The Lizard rushed at him and Spider-man managed to slither underneath the stampede of talons and wiggle leap away from the thrashing tail. The Lizard kept running deeper.

"Doctor Connors!" Spider-man's voice echoed along the brick tunnel and he shook the slick off him as he ran down after the Lizard. The light from his belt buckle a spotlight on black and green scales. "Wait!"

The tunnel turned slowly, enough a non spider-sense assisted hero could lose his bearings and enough that Spider-man was surprised to find the flow dumped into a digester. The opening gave The Lizard an opening to disappear out of the light. Spider-man 

The cold from being so deep underground fought with the heat released to create a cloying moist environment like that of a cool swamp. The digester was working well so the stink of the previous tunnels smelled much more earthy. The biggest stink of crap was on Spider-man suits and The Lizard's scales.

"Doctor Connors!" Spider-man called out as he entered the big circular digester. Vents pumped air in and it was a treat to get the oxygen flavored with car exhaust again. Another big tunnel dumped into the digester and a third cleaner looking tunnel carried away the treated waste. The spider-signal swept across the walls and the surface. "Don't tell me disappeared down one of the tunnels already. Or worse."

The signal moved over the water. The spider-sense told him to get out of the way. Spider-man cartwheeled over the wall as the Lizard dropped down from overhead.

"Doctor Connors! I already heard you once," Spider-man called out. His boots were stuck in clayish waste and Spider-man refused to look down, "I can help you. There's a cure at your lab. Come with me."

"Nah-not 'nuff," The Lizard looked hard at Spider-man, "Sssspider-man."

The Lizard charged again and Spider-man was set to leap away. The muck under his feet seemed to have a mind of its own and he didn't sense it shift. The Lizard had him by the bicep and the chest. Rivulets of blood trickled from under squeezing claws. The Lizard closed his fangs and through Spider-man bodily all the way over the digester. The hero slammed his back into the far wall. 

"All right, Lizzie!" Spider-man couldn't help the angery. He was hurt and soiled and knowing there was no way he was getting the Lizard to the ESU lab while the monster was conscious, "This will slow you down."

Spider-man leapt over the vaulted ceiling. Chasing around the Lizard but avoiding slash after club. The exits became walls of webbing. Tight wires of white web crisscrossed the room faster than the Lizard could tear them down. Snaps of fangs and shrieks of nail on stone met the wet twang of the webs as Spider-man constructed his web. Spider-man dangled from the middle of the room.

"Alright Lizzie," Spider-man balanced in the center confluence of webs, "This where we end it."

"Ssstupid ssspider!" The Lizard snarled but took the bait and leapt over the vat at Spider-man. 

"No, stupid Lizard!" Spider-man grabbed both of The Lizards wrists and slammed the monster belly down into the webs. Half the webs snapped and were pulled like elastics mummifyng scales. The Lizard's left leg was pinned to his ribs. The other webs held and the big reptile thrashed over the digester. He was locked up too far from his hands or his fangs to tear apart the webs and with no leverage to break them with his own strength, "This is going to hurt but its the only way to get you to the lab."

"No, Sspider-man!" The Lizard said with clearer insistence than he had, "The gene cleansser iss not perfect."

"What do you mean, doc?" Spider-man stopped his fist a centimeter from The Lizard's head.

"Whatever happened to me had lefst me a back door to become thsiss," He growled, "I will not put Marthsa and Billy at rissk."

"But in the lab you could find the problem and correct it," Spider-man argued, "And the gene cleanser must have helped a little. You couldn't even think last time."

"It'ss better, yess," The Lizard's yellow eyes looked more clever than predatory to Spider-man for the first time, "Sstill too dangerouss. Calypsso even if the policse have her, could ssell how to control me to anyone. Marthsa and Billy not safe if anyone knowss where I am. Even you Sspider-man."

"I don't think this is the right call, Doc," Spider-man plead.

"Not your call," The Lizard rolled his shoulders, "My ressponssibilty."

There was thunderous snap as the Lizard kicked the leg at his side to shred the webs across his chest and belly. The few over his wrists tail were not enough to hold him. More webs snapped and the Lizard belly flopped into the digester. Spider-man instinctively shot webs after The Lizard. The webbing dispersed into the mire. The spider tracer slowly floated to the surface on a foamy bubble.

"No, I can't help you without that! Doctor Connors!" But his plea was only answered with his own echo. 

"Please let Aunt May have tomato juice in the fridge!" Spider-man prayed as he leapt from the roof and dove into the muck. He couldn't see in the sludge and his spidey sense remained silent. The Lizard was nowhere to be found. Spider-man broke the surface. "See you soon Doc. Hopefully after your skin clears up."

********

"Ms Whitman?" Miles sent his assistant into a startled jump as he called to her, "My apologies. If you need some time, I can make due while you're at home recovering."

"This place needs to be cleaned up so we can get back to work as soon as possible. I can do my work well," Debra stood as tall as she could.

"Of that there is no doubt," Doctor Warren said, "Has the new safe arrived?"

"It's installed in the wall in the office. The combination is 6 left, 1 right, and 6 left," She said.

"I'll be changing that," He announced and made a direct line for the office. He stopped at the door, "Doctor Kafka will be bringing by two of our subjects. Mr Dillon and Mr Kasady. I know how Mr Kasady makes you feel, you really should take the day off."

Debra took a deep breath and returned to the sinks. Not all of the glassware had been destroyed and it was on her shoulders to clean them. Using diluted detergent and wire scouring brushes she set to work. The effort eased her nervousness and the routine helped her along. She began thinking of her novel, impatient to have Barbara reunited with her love. She made mental plans for a long quiet night quite soon. 

The foamy water staggered in it's swirl down the drain. Coughing fat bubbles gurgled up through the drain.

"Of course..." Debra sighed. She knelt to fetch some drain cleaner from the steel cupboard at her knees. The noise then turned. Not simply flatulent gulps but knocking and shaking and rotting steel. Debra rose and peered into the steel dain. The slight green color to the water and the layer of bubbles retreated to the sink's edges. A heart like a dark shadow was deep in the drain. Her heart began hammering. Maybe she would take the day off? A fat bubble rose up and popped. The stink of sewage burned.

"Oh, that's rancid," Debra flinched away, reatreating just over an inch to dodge the upheaval. Black tendrils spat jaggedly up through the soapy water. Debra screamed until she collapsed.

********

Next: Environmental Science 312: Spreading Contamination

The notes occurred out of order because I didn't write anything in order and this time I really don't feel like fixing them.

[1]It really works for any reptile, be they Lizard or Snake.

[2]Littleblackduck isn't a story but my favorite Spider-Man fanfiction author. If you haven't tried his stories When Spidey Met Batgirl and When Spidey Met Oracle you're missing out.

[3]18 for all my hideous brothers and sisters.

[4]I had been stuck on this scene for weeks, so sure, I just ripped off Ghostbusters. The reference to Anchorman being the best movie ever is in response to the two really decent frat guys I knew at university. They never had high calibre tastes though. You want to seriously quote a movie? Office Space all the way.

 

I'd like to thank everybody who waited so long for this chapter. I have to say I've been having a lot of difficulty writing Curt and The Lizard. Turns out the solution was Prodigy. This chapter was brought to you by Firestarter, Smack My Bitch Up and the number 7. I'm not quite ready to post Spreading Contamination nor Climate Change yet but I know that Venom is fuelled primarily by Oasis and our nonapologetic Mr Roman comes from The Boss.

**Author's Note:**

> I'd like to thank everybody who waited so long for this chapter. I have to say I've been having a lot of difficulty writing Curt and The Lizard. Turns out the solution was Prodigy. This chapter was brought to you by Firestarter, Smack My Bitch Up and the number 7. I'm not quite ready to post Spreading Contamination nor Climate Change yet but I know that Venom is fuelled primarily by Oasis and our nonapologetic Mr Roman comes from The Boss.


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